Over the years various devices have been developed for the fisherman to enhance his enjoyment of fishing as well as his probability of catching fish. Among such developments are the development of a number of bobbers which produce a signal to the fisherman when a fish strikes a hook attached to the bobber. This signal is usually in the form of illumination. While such developed devices have been useful for this intended purpose, most of them suffer one or both of two shortcomings. They are either too complex to be manufactured at a price consistent with the economies of fishing, or they often include a number of movable parts and particularly include a circuit closing device or switch having elements which pass from the electrical circuit through the housing of the device into the water. The switches are, therefore subject to failure due to water passing through the opening provided for the switching means. In addition, devices wherein the water either enters or has a tendency to enter through openings provided for the switching devices can result in corrosion and deterioration of the parts from which the bobber are made, ultimately resulting in a malfunctioning signal device. This is particularly discouraging to the fisherman when he has paid a premium price for a bobber which will signal the strike of a fish and finds that its useful life is quite limited.
Examples of such prior art devices include U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,513 to Durham, Jr. wherein a spherical fishing bobber includes a battery and light bulb separated by a coil spring. A shaft extends from the light bulb through a seal member in the lower end thereof and terminates in an eyelet for attachment to a leader connected to a fish hook. When a fish strikes the hook, the shaft will be pulled downwardly compressing the spring and bringing the light bulb in contact with the battery so that the light bulb is illuminated. U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,251 to Snider, et al. discloses a device which includes a battery and a light and wherein the circuit is completed by the movement of a spring urged plunger in response to a fish striking a hook connected to the plunger. The plunger extends through the bottom of the device from the circuitry to the outer portion which sits in the water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,404 to Preeschl discloses a pressurized float wherein a bellows within the float is moved in response to movement of a fish line upon the striking of the fish. This device requires weighing the bait and hook in order to set the calibration of the device before it is used for catching fish. A complex circuit and bellows arrangement is provided wherein the striking of a fish causes a bellow to be compressed and contacts to be closed to cause a light to be illuminated indicating that a fish has struck the line. U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,627 to Tschelisnik discloses a signal floating device having a floatable conductive body therein so that when a fish strikes and pulls the floating body downwardly in the water, the floating conductive device completes an electrical contact to illuminate the device. The lower end of the device is open to the water and in fact the water will float the conductive device up into contact with spaced electrical contacts to complete the circuit when the device is pulled downwardly by a striking fish.